Gov. Terry McAuliffe Issues Executive Order Banning Open Carry In State Buildings

Gov. Terry McAuliffe Issues Executive Order Banning Open Carry In State Buildings

Would any of these actions have prevented the heinous attack on Virginia Tech in 2007 or the equally evil and criminal attack on a Virginia reporter and cameraman on August 26?

On October 15, Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) signed executive order number 50 banning the open carry of firearms in state buildings used by the Virginia executive branch and calling for enforcement to ensure that the only people “in the business” of selling guns in Virginia are those with a Federal Firearm License (FFL).

McAuliffe cited the the April 16, 2007, attack on Virginia Tech and the August 26 on-air attack on a reporter and cameraman as the impetus behind the executive order. The gunmen in both cases–Seung-Hui Cho (2007) and Vester Lee Flanagan (2015)–passed background checks for the guns they used in the commission of their crimes.

According to WAVY, in addition to banning open carry in state buildings, McAuliffe’s executive order also establishes a Joint Task Force to Prosecute Gun Crimes to ensure “that only licensed firearms dealers engage in the business of selling firearms” and “that persons prohibited from owning firearms are prevented from obtaining them.”

The executive order also addresses “the power to prevent gun purchases” for domestic abusers, then immediately goes beyond that to urge not simply a ban on gun purchases and/or possession but also a focus on gun confiscation. For example, McAuliffe uses the order to say he is “[encouraging] prosecutors and judges to use their broad power in both criminal sentencing and in domestic violence protective orders to require persons prohibited from obtaining guns to forfeit guns they may already possess.”

The order also authorizes the Virginia Attorney General to coordinate with prosecutors to bring more cases focused on “illegal firearm sales.” While this is happening. McAuliffe reserves for himself “the right to initiate any other legal proceedings that may be necessary to protect the citizens of the Commonwealth from illegal firearms sales.”